The Financial Conspiracy 



The Financial Conspiracy of 1907 

BRIEF REVIEW OF THE PANIC 

and Exhibits of Some of the 

Five Hundred Million Dollars 
Substitute Money 

By ALVAN S. BROWN ;;''; 

TWENTY YEARS IN WALL STREET 



Copyright, 1913, 
By Alvan S. Bkown. 



©C1,A334127 



^1 



This volume is published with the intention of arous- 
ing my fellow-citizens to a realization of the high- 
handed methods pursued in ''Wall Street." 

"Wall Street" — the capitol of our country, because 
„j it governs our commerce, industry and finance, and con- 
trols our welfare and destinies. 
^ "Wall Street" must have our eyes focused upon it; 

^ or it will have its hands tightened upon us. 

It is treason to "Wall Street" to make its methods 
public, but treason is justifiable when committed for 
'^ the benefit of mankind. 

I am fully aware of the seriousness of the assertions 
contained in this exposure. I am also aware of the 
power of those against whom the charges are pre- 
ferred. 



That persecution will follow is almost a certainty. 
But it is a duty which must be performed and can 
best be performed by one in my position. 

Twenty years in Wall Street has given me ample 
opportunity to gather facts which I hope, from time to 
time, to make public. 

It is neither malice nor vengeance that prompts the 
publication of this volume, but it is done as a service 
to society. 




THE FINANCIAL CONSPIRACY 



The Imancial panic of 1907 sounds a warning which 
all must heed and to which none can aiiord to remain 
indifferent ' 

It is a warning which unheeded spells disaster and 
ruin to you and me and the nation. 

It is a warning which makes a demand for serious 
attention and calls for thorough investigation. 

This panic teaches a lesson we must all act upon. 

The panic is rich in events. Prom them innumer- 
able, valuable lessons may be learned. 

The object of the writer is to review some of the 
events of that memorable panic for the purpose of 
proving that they were premeditated, and not accidental, 
as some would have us believe, that they foreshadow 
grave danger and if repeated will again cause distrust 



and fear. Industrial and financial institutions will be 
wiped out, labor will be idle and privation and stag- 
nation will prevail. 

The conspiracy enacted proves, that we are not treated 
equally by the government; that we are not protected 
in our property rights and that our financial, commer- 
cial and industrial institutions are in grave peril of 
being absorbed by the "Money Powers"; that the gov- 
ernment has become impotent in the protection of our 
property or that it has become the instrument of these 
"Money Powers". 

The financial panic of 1907 further demonstrates 
that with the "money trust" lies the power to with- 
draw all legal money from circulation, to deny 
credit, to deprive business institutions of their good 
will and force them to sell out, merge or fail. 



To substantiate the assertions made herein, the fol- 
lowing facts are submitted in evidence: 

And, if I succeed in arousing the public to a realiza- 
tion of this, the greatest moral crime of the century, 
I will be amply repaid for my labor. 

In the fall of 1907 banks and industrial corporations 
were actually forced into bankruptcy or into the hands 
of receivers. 

Typical of these banks were the following in the City 
of New York: 

Knickerbocker Trust. 

Oriental Bank. 

Amsterdam Bank. 

Mechanics' & Traders' Bank. 

Williamsburg Trust. 

Borough Bank of Brooklyn. 

And hundreds of others throughout the nation. So 
much fer banks, for the present. 



Of industrial corporations a very striking example 
was furnished by the Tennessee Coal & Iron Company. 

It is admitted that the Tennessee Coal & Iron Com- 
pany had $200,000,000 in natural resources. It could 
not, however, market its securities and was compelled 
to sell to the United States Steel Company for $29,000,- 
000. That is $171,000,000 less than the estimate of 
its natural resources alone. 

And this purchase, if so it may be termed, was not 
paid for in cash, but by substituting United States 
Steel Company's bonds for the stock of the Tennessee 
Coal & Iron Company. 

It is important to note that both Mr. J. P. Morgan 
and Mr. Geo. W. Perkins were and are directors of 
the United States Steel Company. 

The above facts show hundreds of firms crumbling 
to dust, as it were, not because of corruption or mis- 



management, but because of an extraordinary spon- 
taneous demand for cash. 

Two questions present themselves: 

First: What caused this sudden demand for cash? 

Second: Wliat caused the scarcity of cash? 

The answers are: First, the press notices as will 
be shown in the instance of the Trust Company of 
America, instigated by one of the arch conspirators, 
Geo. W. Perkins; Second, the substitute money being 
circulated as will be evidenced by reproductions of same 
at the close of the book. 

This substitute money was issued to the amount of 
$500,000,000, and enabled some of the "Money Lords" 
to corner the outstanding cash. This was done with 
a total disregard to the consequences suffered by others. 

It is a violation of the law to issue money. It is 
illegal to do many other things. But law may be cir- 
cimivented. 



It is because the "Money Lords" can afford to pay 
the best legal talents, that they can purchase the best 
brains, they are kept informed on how to circumvent 
the law. By so doing the "Money Lord" lifts himself 
out of the criminal class and holds himself out as a 
respectable, aye, even a model citizen. 

By issuing these "Money" certificates or "money" 
substitutes, the "Money Lord" gathers and retains all 
legal money. Thereby a scarcity of currency is created. 

When you are hard pressed, and you feel that you 
are stifled because of lack of cash, you know where to 
go. The "Money Lord" knows that it is against the 
law to charge more than the legal rate of interest, but 
he also knows that he may charge a bonus for "pro- 
curing" the money or a fee for "liis" counsel. And 
he does. 

His activity is like that of the steam roller. As 
the steam roller moves, everything on its path is crushed 



and flattened. It possesses no feeling, it knows no 
mercy and heeds no cries. It is cold and hard and 
crushing. You are at the mercy of the mercyless. You 
realize that it is a foul game. "Yes, my 'Money Lord,' 
you hold the cards, you shuffle them, you hand them 
around, you tell us which to play, you make your own 
rules, you dictate your own terms. And we obey and 
begin to realize that your 'justice is but a sham and 
delusion." 

In October, 1907, the money situation was such, that 
the powers controlling it, probably found that the time 
was ripe for the execution of the plans which they had 
laid to exterminate the UNDESIRABLE competitors 
in the financial and industrial fields. 

Rumblings had been heard for some weeks and on 
October 22d, the storm broke loose. 

The Knickerbocker Trust Company closed its doors. 



During that day it payed out $8,000,000 in cash; 
the last demand being a check for $1,500,000. 

Here we have a concern forced into receivership, by 
unusual efforts, by unusual demands. 

Where did the demand for the million and a half 
come from ? It came from the Hanover National Bank, 
of which Mr. James Stillman was a director. And 
Mr. Stillman is no small character; he is besides director 
of the above named bank, also President of the National 
City Bank, a Rockefeller institution. 

It is of importance to note that the New York 
Times of October 23, 1907, expressly states, "$1,500,- 
000, Hanover National check closes the KnickerbocJcer 
Trust Co." 

So far we see in the Tennessee Coal & Iron Com- 
pany the Morgan interests at work; in the Knicker- 
bocker Trust Company, the Rockefeller interests at 



work. Thus far we see them at work, separately. A? 
we proceed we will also see them at work, jointly. 

On the same day, October 22d, the Trust Company 
of America paid out, in cash, $1,600,000, and yet 
Mr. Oakleigh Thorne, its president, informs us that 
the run on the Knickerbocker Trust Company in no 
way affected his company. 

Again, on that same day, October 22d, after bank- 
ing hours, Mr. George W. Perkins and Mr. Henry P. 
Davison, both of the firm of J. P. Morgan & Co., 
called on Mr. Oakleigh Thorne at the offices of the 
Trust Company of America. They thoroughly exam- 
ined the financial condition of the institution. 

It showed, to be brief, that it had $74,000,000 in 
assets, of which $12,000,000 was in cash. 

Mr. Perkins and Mr. Davison said to Mr. Thome: 
"They were pleased to find the conditions as good as 
they were." 



That same night, October 22d, a secret meeting was 
held at the Manhattan Hotel. Ostensibly to save the 
Trust Company of America. Present on this event 
were Mr. George W. Perkins, Mi. Henry P. Davison, 
Mr. J. P. Morgan, Mr. George B. Cortelyou, then Sec- 
retary of the U. S. Treasury, and a member of the 
cabinet of President Theodore Roosevelt and others. 
But Mr. Thorne, President of the Trust Company of 
America, was conspicuous by his absence. He, the 
most interested of all was not invited. 

And this self-appointed committee decided — What? 
To save the Trust Company of America. For whom? 
Judge for yourself. 

Mr. Perkins, now informed on the financial standing 
of the Trust Company of America, gets busy. 

He prepares a statement for publication. It is de- 
livered to Mr. Melville E. Stone, Manager of the Asso- 
ciated Press. On the following morning, October 23d, 



it appears in the New York Times and in part, reads 
as follows: 

"The chief sore point of the panic is the Trust 
Company of America, etc." 

Its result was obvious. 

A run was started on the Trust Company of America. 
Its president, Mr. Thorne, made every effort possible, 
to stop the run, opening several extra pay windows, 
but of no avail. On that day the Trust Company of 
America was compelled to pay out $13,500,000 in 
cash. 

In the meantime, Mr. Thome made it his object to 
see Mr. M. E. Stone, for the purpose of informing him 
that the statement which appeared in the Times was 
not true as to the condition of the Trust Company of 
America, and also to see Mr. J. P. Morgan from whom 
he intended to borrow money. 

Mr. Morgan put Mr. Thome off for some time. He 



said the committee appointed to make the investigation 
had not reported. 

Mr. Thorne, was, at that time, unaware of the mid- 
night meeting held at the Manhattan Hotel by Mr. 
Morgan, Mr. Perkins and others. 

It might be added that when Mr. Thorne called at 
the office of Mr. Morgan on October 23d, Mr. Perkins, 
Mr. Davison and Mr. Stillman, President of the Rock- 
efeller Bank, were present. Here we have them jointly;. 
Rockefeller's representative in Morgan's office, planning 
to "save". 

It is quite evident that the action of Mr. J. P. Mor- 
gan was a subterfuge, and that he waited for the psyco- 
logical moment to "get" Mr. Thorne or his institution 
to accede to his terms. The terms were $20,000,000 
of securities selected by Mr. Morgan's own committee, 
for a $10,000,000 loan, only $6,000,000 of which was 
immediately advanced — the rest in installments. Later 



a loan of the same nature of $15,000,000 on $30,000,- 
000 of picked securities was made. 

As a result of Mr. Perkin's machinations, the finn 
of J. P. Morgan & Co. and others, got possession of 
$50,000,000 of the most valuable securities held by the 
Trust Company of America by advancing $25,000,000 
in installments. Some saving! 

It is quite plain that the Morgan-Rockefeller clique 
killed two birds with one stone. 

First: The Knickerbocker Trust Company was com- 
pelled to close upon presentation of a check for $1,500,- 
000, drawn by the Hanover National Bank, of which, 
Mr. James Stillman, the father-in-law of Mr. William 
Rockefeller's two sons, is a director. 

Second: As the dirfi|it result of the publication of 
Mr. Perkin's statement in the New York Times, the 
run on the Trust Company of America occurred. 



It was these events that intensified the real panic. 

They put our country in a frenzy, caused untold 
suffering, misery and numerous suicides. 

These and other events helped the money oligarchy 
to obtain control of 36 per cent of the wealth of the 
nation. (N. Y. World, October 21, 1912). 

Mr. Oakleigh Thorne, formerly president of the 
Trust Company of America, through merging of that 
Trust Company with the Equitable Trust Company 
(a Morgan institution), has been cast aside, like a 
squeezed lemon. 

Mr. John D. Barney, formerly president of the 
Knickerbocker Trust Company, committed suicide. He 
left a letter saying: "I do not kill myself because I 
am a poor man, but because I have lost faith in man- 
kind." 



Mr. George B. Cortelyou is now (November, 1912), 
the president of the Consolidated Gas Company of New- 
York. This is a William Rockefeller (the brother of 
John D. Rockefeller) concern. 

A few questions might now be in place. 

First: What was the object of Mr. Perkins in in- 
vestigating the Trust Company of America? 

Second: Why, after he had declared himself: 
"Pleased to find the conditions as good", did he publish 
a statement which caused a run on the Trust Company 
of America? 

Third: Wliy a secret midnight meeting and Mr. 
Thorne, an interested party, not invited? 

Fourth: How comes Mr. George B. Cortelyou, Sec- 



retary of the U. S. Treasury and member of the Cabinet 
of President Theodore Roosevelt, to be present ? 

Fifth: Why did the U. S. Treasury, with the knowl- 
edge and consent of President Theodore Roosevelt, turn 
over $25,000,000, in cash, to Mr. J. P. Morgan ? 

Sixth: Wliy was not that $25,000,000 advanced to 
the suffering banks, which had a super-abundance of 
gilt-edge securities, and whose only ailment was the 
lack of cash? 

Seventh: How was it that the banks and industrial 
corporations that stood in the good graces of the "Fi- 
nancial Fraternity" were able to issue and circulate 
the substitute money, some exhibits of which I herewith 
submit in the following pages? 



SUBSTITUTE MONEY ISSUED. 

Congress, alone, has the power to issue money. Constitution of the United States of America, Article 1,. 

Section 10 — No state shall coin money, emit bills of credit or make anything but gold and silver coin a 
tender of payment of debts. 



In presenting the following exhibits of "unlawful"' 
money issued by many banks in many cities in all parts 
of the United States, we call the reader's attention to 
the fact that at no time was public attention called to 
it. 

The exhibits shown are reproductions of some of 
the substitute money (?) issued, to the amount of 
$500,000,000 by banks and associations throughout the 



United States and range in denominations from 25 
cents to $50,000. No. 1 is an exhibit of the 25c type 
issued by the M'ontgomery Clearing House, Alabama. 
No. 2 is an exhibit of those issued by the New York 
Clearing House Association to the amount of $101,- 
000,000. 

The date of the first issue was October 36th, 1907. 
The last issue was January 30th, 1908, final cancella- 



tion March 28th, 1908, just one hundred and twenty- 
five banking days to carry out their plans. Then the 
lawful money was restored. 

How was it these institutions could gauge so accurate- 
ly the length of the panic as to practically guarantee 
payment of debts at a set date? 

In the manufacturing centres of the nation, the wage 
workers were paid in "payroll" checks of which No. 3 
and 4 are exhibits. Only those industries which were 
in good standing with the Money Trust enjoyed this 
privilege. Typical of these were the Standard Oil Com- 
pany, Duluth and Iron Eange E. E., etc. Some of 
these "payroll" checks had this notice: 

"To our employees: This check will be received in 
payment of your bill by merchants and business men 
and will be deposited by them in their banks for pay- 
ment through the Clearing House." 

This proved to be a means of draining the merchants 



of all available lawful money, and forced them to ac- 
cept in lieu thereof, instruments of which it was said : 

"Many of these checks had no collateral security back 
of them, and were accepted purely on the responsibility 
of the issuing bank." 

This is the kind of money ( ?) that the gold miners 
of Goldfield, Nevada, had refused to accept in lieu of 
authorized legal tender and had gone on strike against. 
President Theodore Eoosevelt on November 18, 1907, 
issued orders to General Funston, to dispatch a sufficient 
force of Federal troops from Presidio (San Francisco, 
Cal.), to make the miners take more kindly to the scrip 
at the point of the bayonet. 

See Appeal to Reasoji, Kansas, December 14, December 28 
1907, and New York Dally People, December T, 1907. 

No. 5 is an exhibit of some of the money ( ?) issued 
by the following banks at Lincoln, Neb., from Novem- 
ber 1st, 1907, to January 15th, 1908: 



National Bank of Commerce. 
The Central National Bank. 
First National Bank. 
City National Bank. 
Farmers' & Merchants' Bank. 

This is the home town of William Jennings Bryan, 
who, in 1896, had startled the Nation by his cry: "You 
shall not press down upon the brow of Labor this crown 
of tliorns; you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross 
of gold. * * * ^g gg^y jjj^ Q^jj. platform that we 
believe that the right to coin and issue money is a . 
function of government. We believe it. We believe 
that it is a part of soverignty, and can no more with 
safety be delegated to private individuals than we can 
afford to delegate to private individuals the power to 
make penal statutes or levy taxes." — William Jennings 



Bryan, before the Democratic National Convention, 
Chicago, 111., July 9, 1896. 

You will notice that this paper money ( ?) was is- 
sued eleven years after the great financial campaign of 
1896, wherein the issue was the Gold Standard vs. Free 
Silver, one championed by William McKinley, the other 
by William Jennings Bryan, both declaring that the 
"Money of the Constitution" should be the money of 
the Nation. The voters, by electing William McKinley, 
decided that the Gold Standard should prevail. 

Notwithstanding this, at Canton, Ohio, the home 
town of the late President William McKinley, the Clear- 
ing House issued substitute paper money in the amounts 
of $1, $2, $5 and $10 (see exlnbit No. 6). 

Hon. Judge Alton Brooks Parker, the nominee for 
the Presidency by the Democratic Convention held at 
St. Louis, Mo., July 9, 1904, sent a message to the con- 
vention declining to accept the nomination, except on 



the understanding that he would maintain the gold 
standard of money value. 
The telegram read: 

"To the Delegates at the Democratic Convention : 
I regard the Gold Standard as firmly and irrevoc- 
ably established, and I shall act accordingly. 

ALTON B. PAEKER." 
At Portland, Ore., and Seattle, Wash, (see exhibit 
No. 7), the money (?) instead of being based on Gold 
and Silver as is generally required by law, was issued 
by resolution of the Clearing House Association, upon 
Lumber, Wheat and Canned Fish to the amount of 75 
per cent of what they cleaimed it to be worth. 

In Portland, Los Angeles and Spokane (see exhibits 
Nos. 7, 8 and 9), the substitute money bore close re- 
semblance to real money. 

These exhibits of money ( ?) conclusively prove that 
preparations had long been made and care taken to 



circumvent the law of the various states. They suggest 
premeditation and design in engineering this affair. 

The facts herein shown make it self-evident that the 
"Money Trust" has it in its power to eliminate any 
Banker, Merchant, Manufacturer, Farmer or Wage 
Worker they deem advisable. Whether he be the cus- 
todian of seventy-four million, as was Mr. Thorne, or 
part owner of a corporation, like the Tenessee Coal & 
Iron Co., with two hundred millions of property. For 
this Financial Oligarchy are a law unto themselves and 
dictators to all others. 

Therefore, unless earnest thought and careful con- 
sideration is given to this situation, unless a concerted 
move is made to prevent a repetition thereof, this Na- 
tion, to its sorrow, will soon realize that its people are 
gradually being deprived of their incentives, hopes and 
asperations and that the great body of American citizens 
will be reduced to industrial servitude. 




1907 



Exhibit No. 1. 

MONTGOMERY CLEARING HOUSE CERTIFICATE 

MONTGOMERY, ALA. 

W, THIS CERTIFIES That the 

Y of Montgomery, Alabama, has deposited with the undersigned Committee of the Montgomery Clearing House, 

^(^ approved securities of double the value of this Certificate, or United States, State of Alabama, or approved Muni- 
ST'--' cipal Bonds for the payment of the sum of TWENTT-FIVE CENTS to said Bank or Bearer ir lawful money of the United 
States, at ninety days from date, or earlier at the option of said Bank, but no Certificate is to be issued bearing date 
later than January Hi, 190S. This Certificate will be received on deposit by any Bank or Banker belonging to the 
Clearing House Association of Montgomery^ at pai , at any time before its maturity 



A 



Jfy 9559 mJ^XZ^^lZ -^T^Jfc^^IIl^ 

Not Valid until endorsed by Bank named herein. committee 




Exhibit No. 2. 



So. 50593 

Loan Committee of the New York Clearing House Association 

JVaiv Tork., : 

This Certifies, that the . , 

has deposited vrith this Committee, securities in accordance vrzth the pvoceedings of 
Meeting of the Association, held. October S6th, 1907 upon Tyhich this Certi/Lcate is 
issued. This Certificate ^^iU be received in payrnent of balances at the Clearing House 
for the sum of FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS, from anu Arem.ber of the Clearing' 
House As 



Exhibit No. 3. 

■^^;^ ^ — — ^ -— -— - — - — 



4>^o. <r. 10018 ii:!cw m^K 

Fhe National: City Bank 



O 
: , pi\Ki_ to the ^:'l•^Cr Ot BHARKS.* 



j^ . ■ Sin ddar.i'^^^. of New York 



"^ 



Exhibit No. 4. 




Exhibit No. 5. 



'r{ I' 









BEARER 



TEN 



October 29, 

S>: 10.00 



Cashitr Check No 



(^>^t/' ^^^-^-^isa^^S^*'- 



/ /--■'-'-" Cashier 



Exhibit No. 6. 



$ I .00 Canton. Ohio, November II. 1907. 

PAY TO THE BEARER 

ONE DOLLAR^]sj:E^QOIiASr-$'00 

I] PAYABLE ONLY THROUGH THE CANTON CLEARING HOUSE. 

m •♦,•»••• 

; JVH&'^RsSr WA^IONAL BANK, 
»9 • , e e e • • ••" 

• • • • • -•- 



(E 



• 9 « . * _ . C«liia. 



• ee» 



Exhibit No; 7A— Front. 




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,i imtis »nt>^nityUu nrrttmtUu h s/cujr U I'l/lfanr^Ms /frtifitnh, WfMUt 



-r^VEMtr^^ a»OSLBL/4ffVS %12«ftoo 













Exhibit No. 7B— Back. 



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I VIK 






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Exhibit No 8A— Front. 







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Exhibit No. 8B— Back. 




Exhibit No. 9. 



r 

^ Spokatie Cl^mU^tV Hou 

A Xhe Sgbokanc CIch 

^e^cer hereof ^1 dfjiiiaiid 




e As^55ti)^tion Check -r^^^ 




Financial Conspiracy 
of 1Q07 



For further information on matter contained in this 
booKlet, and price in quantities, sign and mail this card. 



ALiVRN S. BROWN 

83 Nassau Street 
New YorR 



Street No. 



PLACE 
(£#©§€ i'^a^A^ ONE CENT 

STAMP 



Mr. A Ivan S. Brown 

83 Nassau Street 

New York City 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

IIIIHIi 



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